This invention relates to crib liners and, more particularly, to crib liners for preventing an infant or young child from extending its limbs through the spaces between the vertical slats of the side rails.
Conventional baby cribs include side rails that are made up of top and bottom horizontal bars interconnected by a series of spaced apart slats. Frequently babies and toddlers while sleeping or playing in their cribs intentionally or accidentally extend their limbs out of the crib between the slats and have difficulty drawing them back into the crib. If this occurs when the child is sleeping, the extended limbs will remain uncovered and become cold, and the child will ultimately awaken. The problem is more acute when crib bumpers are employed because the child's limb may extend between the slats and under the bumpers so that movement of the limb is severely restricted and it is more difficult for the child to draw it back into the crib. Many cribs have head boards and foot boards that are also made with spaced apart vertical slats, and the baby may extend its arms or legs out of the crib between those slats as well.
The prior art includes a member of patents directed to liner-like device for cribs and playpens that perform a variety of functions. For example, Long U.S. Pat. No. 3,438,069 discloses a crib warmer having sides which are disposed within the crib and contains flexible tubes through which heated fluid passes. The side walls of the device are imperforate so that air cannot freely circulate within the crib and a child in the crib is not clearly in view. Turner U.S. Pat. No. 3,183,527 discloses a net material for enclosing a child in a confined space, but the openings in the netting are too large to prevent a child's limbs from extending through them and would actually enable a child to climb out of the enclosure. The Moltane U.S. Pat. No. 2,784,420 shows a playpen construction wherein netting is supported by a tubular frame and defines the side walls of the enclosure. The openings are not so small as to prevent a child from pulling him/herself up and over the top of the side by grasping the netting through the openings. Mundis U.S. Pat. No. 3,103,669 discloses a crib shield that wraps around the outside of the side rails and includes a small elastic section that is somewhat transparent and allows the flow of air to the crib interior, but the shield will not prevent a child from extending a limb between the slats because the liner lies outside the crib. Ruiz U.S. Pat. No. 2,927,331 shows an insect netting for cribs which totally enclosed the crib interior by virtue of its four side walls and bottom and top walls. The side and top walls of the netting are supported only from the four comer posts of the crib and therefore the netting is susceptible to being pulled from the side rails and head and foot boards of the crib and becoming entangled about the child.
The primary object of the present invention is to provide a crib liner which prohibits a child from extending its limbs out of the crib between the slats.
Another important object of this invention is to provide a crib liner which safely confines a child within its crib and does not enable the child to climb out of the crib by pulling itself up on the liner over the side rail.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a crib liner that confines a child within the crib but does not impede visual monitoring of the child or the circulation of air about and within the crib.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a crib liner which does not interfere with the mounting of crib bumpers within the crib.
To accomplish these and other objects, the crib liner of the present invention is made of a fine mesh whose openings are too small to permit the fingers or toes of a child to extend through its and which is nevertheless transparent so that the child can be viewed in the crib through the liner and further permits the free circulation of air in the crib. The liner fits within the crib and has a bottom panel disposed beneath the mattress and side and end panels that extend upwardly on the inside of the side rails and head board and foot board of the crib. The upper edges of the side panels carry quilted extensions that extend over and about the top bars of the side rails, and convenient fasteners are provided in the side panels and extensions which enable the two to be secured together between the slats of the side rails. The upper edges of both end panels are provided with sleeves that carry rods which enable them to be secured to the head board and foot board. Ties are provided at the ends of the sleeves for that purpose. The lower ends of the end panels also carry ties which enable the bottom of each end panel to be secured in place. The liner is placed in the crib and the crib mattress is thereafter dropped into place. The mattress serves to retain the liner in place and prevents the child in the crib from pulling the bottom of the end panels or the side panels above the mattress.
These and other objects and features of the present invention will be better understood and appreciated from the following detailed description of one embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings.